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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024

BTLG Table of Contents > Fee Collection Procedures Law > Chapter 7 > entire chapter

Fee Collection Procedures Law

Revenue and Taxation Code

Division 2. Other Taxes
Part 30. Fee Collection Procedures Law

Chapter 7. Violations

55361. Criminal penalties. Any person who refuses to furnish any return or report required to be made, or who refuses to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the board, is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense.

55362. Penalties for other misconduct. Any person who knowingly or willfully files a false return or report with the board, and any person who refuses to permit the board or any of its authorized representatives to make any inspection or examination for which provision is made in this part, or who fails to keep any records prescribed by the board, or who fails to preserve the records for the inspection of the board for the time that the board deems necessary, or who alters, cancels, or obliterates entries in the records for the purpose of falsifying the records, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than one month or more than six months, or by both.

55363. Penalty for willful evasion or attempt to evade payment of fee. Any person who willfully evades or attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the payment of the fee imposed by this part is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months, two, or three years and a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).

History—Stats. 2011, Ch. 15 (AB 109), in effect April 4, 2011, operative October 1, 2011, substituted "pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code" for "in the state prison" after "felony punishable by imprisonment", substituted "two" for "2" after "for 16 months,", and substituted "three" for "3" after "two, or".

Note.—SEC 1 of Stats 2011, Ch. 15 (AB 109), in effect April 4, 2011, states: "This act is titled and may be cited as the 2011 Realignment Legislation addressing public safety."

Note.—SEC 636 of Stats 2011, Ch. 15 (AB 109) in effect April 4, 2011, states: "This act will become operative no earlier than July 1, 2011, and only upon creation of a community corrections grant program to assist in implementing this act and upon an appropriation to fund the grant program."

Note.—The Community Corrections Grant Program referred to in SEC 636 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 15 (AB 109), as amended by SEC 68 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 39 (AB 117), was created by SEC 3 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 40 (AB 118), operative October 1, 2011.

55363.5. Sales suppression device prohibition. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, any person who purchases, installs, or uses in this state any automated sales suppression device or zapper or phantom-ware with the intent to defeat or evade the determination of an amount collected pursuant to this part is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) (1) Any person who, for commercial gain, sells, purchases, installs, transfers, or possesses in this state any automated sales suppression device or zapper or phantom-ware with the knowledge that the sole purpose of the device is to defeat or evade the determination of an amount collected pursuant to this part is guilty of an offense punishable by a fine as specified in paragraph (2), by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or, pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, for 16 months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment. In addition, any person who uses an automated sales suppression device or zapper or phantom-ware shall be liable for all taxes, interest, and penalties due as a result of the use of that device.

(2) (A) Where a person is guilty of the offense described in paragraph (1) and the person sold, installed, transferred, or possessed three or fewer automated sales suppression devices or zappers or phantom-ware, that person shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(B) Where a person is guilty of the offense described in paragraph (1) and the person sold, installed, transferred, or possessed more than three automated sales suppression devices or zappers or phantom-ware, that person shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(3) This subdivision shall not apply to a person that is a corporation that possesses any automated sales suppression device or zapper or phantom-ware for the sole purpose of developing hardware or software to combat the evasion of taxes by use of automated sales suppression devices or zappers or phantom-ware.

(c) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Automated sales suppression device" or "zapper" means a software program carried on a memory stick or removable compact disc, accessed through an Internet link, or accessed through any other means, that falsifies the electronic records of electronic cash registers and other point-of-sale systems, including, but not limited to, transaction data and transaction reports.

(2) "Electronic cash register" means a device that keeps a register or supporting documents through the means of an electronic device or computer system designed to record transaction data for the purpose of computing, compiling, or processing retail sales transaction data in whatever manner.

(3) "Phantom-ware" means a hidden, preinstalled, or installed at a later time programming option embedded in the operating system of an electronic cash register or hardwired into the electronic cash register that can be used to create a virtual second till or may eliminate or manipulate transaction records that may or may not be preserved in digital formats to represent the true or manipulated record of transactions in the electronic cash register.

(4) "Transaction data" includes information regarding items purchased by a customer, the price for each item, a taxability determination for each item, a segregated tax or fee amount for each of the items subject to the tax or fee, the amount of cash or credit tendered, the net amount returned to the customer in change, the date and time of the purchase, the name, address, and identification number of the vendor, and the receipt or invoice number of the transaction.

(d) This section shall not preclude prosecution under any other law.

History—Stats. 2013, Ch. 532 (AB 781), in effect January 1, 2014.

55364. Penalty for misdemeanor violation. Every person convicted for a violation of any provision of this part for which another penalty or punishment is not specifically provided for in this part is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both.

55365. Statute of limitations. Any prosecution for violation of any provision of this part shall be instituted within three years after the commission of the offense.